Swinburne researchers have turned old, unwanted mattresses into safe and sustainable building insulation materials using fungi. The team grew a common fungus together with shredded mattress foam to create a new material that is solid and lightweight. Their research is published in the journal Scientific Reports.
Mattresses are one of the hardest household items to recycle, explains Swinburne authors Dr. The Hong Phong (Peter) Nguyen, Associate Professor Mostafa Nikzad and Dr. Huseyin Sumer. “Mattresses are durable, bulky, and often end up in landfill,” says Dr. Nguyen. “Through natural biological processes, we can give this waste a second life.”
The process involves fungal roots binding to the waste, forming natural mineral compounds that can resist extreme heat, remaining stable even when exposed to temperatures close to 1,000°C. “The material performed well as an insulator, with heat-blocking ability very close to commercial insulation products already used in homes and buildings,” says Dr. Nguyen.
“The approach is both practical and environmentally responsible, using fungus that is closely related to strains used in food production and medicine, and relying on common, widely used chemicals.”
1.8 million mattresses are disposed of each year in Australia, according to Director of Innovation at the Australian Bedding Stewardship Council, Tracey Pryor. “740,000 mattresses are still sent to landfill, equating to approximately 22,000 metric tons of needless waste that can take up to 120 years each to decompose,” Pryor says.
Dr. Nguyen hopes that with further development, this fungus-based material could also be used as fire-resistant insulation, building panels, or even shaped for future construction methods such as 3D-printed building elements.
“Our work shows how combining biology with waste materials, while leveraging deep manufacturing science, can lead to smart, low-impact solutions that better the environment and the lives of everyone.”
More information:
The Hong Phong Nguyen et al, Upcycling end-of-life mattresses into sustainable insulation materials through development of mycelium based biocomposites, Scientific Reports (2025). DOI: 10.1038/s41598-025-30954-x
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